I always enjoy the process of evaluating a team from its current roster, to its needs, to its potential targets and so on. I was thinking I would give thoughts on a position a day in order to hopefully get feedback from others to expand my own knowledge of the positional situation as to maybe throwing out thoughts and ideas that others may not have even considered. Also, most thoughts will operate under the thoughts of an "in a perfect world" type of scenario.

 

Quarterback:

Player                  Age                   2014-15 Status          2015-16 Salary Hit(According to Spotrac)/Remaining Years on Contract

 

Blake Bortles      22 years old      Rookie                       4.7 million/3 years

Chad Henne       29 years old      7th season                 3.5 million/1 year

Stephen Morris  22 yearls old      Rookie                       510 K/2 years

 

 

Thoughts: Blake Bortles will definitely be the guy in the 2015-16 season. Ideally, the offensive line in its 2nd year together as well as his 2nd year working with these receivers and ideally Blackmon getting his head out of his [BLEEP] will result in Bortles improving tremendously and proving to be a legit franchise QB. Henne is a barely serviceable back up option that knows the system well and is not the worst back up in the league. Stephen Morris could potentially be a decent back up option if Henne were not here, but I cannot really say if he is an ideal number 2. He is very consistent with a lot of potential, but a level of disappointment as well. For his low salary, and possible potential and only being looked at as a back up, he is a solid option for the team overall.

 

Analysis: If not for Henne, the QB group would consist of 2 guys that would only be in their 2nd season. Henne provides a decent back up with experience and knows the system if needed.

 

Draft: With all the needs of this team and with 2 players going into only their 2nd year, QB should not be drafted in any round. Very few quality QBS are in this next class anyway.

 

Free Agents: This is the only way in which a QB should enter this team. I know a lot of people hate Henne and would rather have a different back up option and don't believe Morris should be the #2 at this point. The top two ideal possibilities would be Mark Sanchez and Brian Hoyer. Both players are pretty much the same age as Henne, but both have enjoyed a little more success.

 

Sanchez: I know Sanchez definitely gets a lot of flack for his past, especially the butt fumble, but he has done decent in the past. He has a much better career record than Henne, better passing yards per start and a better TD-INT ratio. A guy like Sanchez brings in a higher quality backup that could do better than Henne if Bortles is injured and provides more of a threat to Bortles position than Henne pushing Bortles to perform better.(I know some will say that the pressure could cause Bortles to struggle, but I say if a competitive backup causes him to struggle more then it proves he isn't the long term option.) Obviously, some teams will look at Sanchez as a possible starter rather than backup and we wouldn't get him. In the ideal situation though, he would be a much better backup option than Henne.

 

Hoyer: He began really solid this last year before struggling in about 4 straight games and eventually losing his job to Johnny Football. As a backup, he provides a moderate level of previous success and a slightly better backup performance wise. Cleveland doesn't exactly have a strong receiving core and yet he did relatively well the first half of the year. Stat wise and whatnot he isn't much better than Henne, but he does bring in a history with Brady. He was backup and did learn under Brady for a couple of years. Obviously, some value this information more than others. I mean under this theory he should have helped Manziel.

 

Others: Some other potential players would be guys like Ponder, Locker and Hill. Hill did pretty decent with the situation he was in and proved he could be a quality backup. The problem is he is 34 years old and won't be around much longer, where guys like Hoyer and Sanchez would be around for awhile suring up QB for a couple extra years. I do not like the options of Locker or Ponder at all. Why would you want to bring in either of these 2 young QBS that have majorly disappointed? I mean maybe Ponder due to his Florida connection from Florida State and the mobility.

 

Outlook: The depth chart should look the same next year. Bortles will be the guy without a doubt and should probably(hopefully), improve and show he can be the future. Henne is a decent backup and with 2 young guys already on the chart drafting a QB shouldn't happen and with few quality options in free agency, the best option may be to just keep Henne. Morris could be a good potential number 2 for after Henne, but right now is definitely 3rd. After the next season, the team will have to try to keep Henne on a much lower salary or find a different veteran 3rd option, but for now Bortles, Henne, Morris appears to be the best option for QB next season.

 

 

 

As I said, I look to expand my own knowledge as well as others. If anyone has thoughts on something I missed or on anything posted, feel free to comment.

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I agree with what you said, but I feel that we haven't seen enough of Morris to be making decisions on whether he can be our backup. I'd say to keep Henne until his contract runs out, and then draft another QB who is young and can learn under Bortles once he's got it all down.

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"It was Blake Bortles the whole time. They believe in this kid. He reminds me a bit of a young Ben Roethlisberger." ~Mike Mayock

Morris intrigues me just on his arm talent alone. However, we need vets on this team and Henne provides good leadership. He is a good example.

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